Skills Worksheet Critical Thinking ANALOGIES Mark the letter of the pair of terms that best completes the analogy shown. An analogy is a relationship between two pairs of words or phrases written as a : b :: c : d. The symbol : is read is to, and the symbol :: is read as. 1. Industrial Revolution : Agricultural Revolution :: a. animal muscle : fossil fuels b. hunters : gatherers c. agricultural revolution : hunter-gatherers d. hunter-gatherers : population growth 2. pollution : health effects :: a. industrial : revolution b. cyanide : smog c. extinction : biodiversity d. automobiles : exhaust 3. environmental science : biology :: a. botany : zoology b. biology : zoology c. zoology : geology d. social sciences : chemistry 4. renewable resource : nonrenewable resource :: a. iron : water b. trees : sunlight c. water : trees d. trees : oil 5. ecological footprint : land :: a. developed nation : consumption b. developing nation : consumption c. grazing : forest products d. land : ocean 6. supply : demand :: a. overpopulation : resources b. renewable : nonrenewable c. computer production : sales of computers d. population : consumption 7. commons : overgrazing :: a. Earth : resources b. short-term interests : long-term interests c. individual lands : sustainability d. individuals : society 8. biodegradable : nonbiodegradable :: a. pollutant : toxin b. plastic : newspaper c. cotton : polyester d. mercury : lead Holt Environmental Science 3 Science and the Environment
INTERPRETING OBSERVATIONS Read the following scenario, and answer the questions that follow. Four students are given the assignment of classifying countries as developing or developed. Each student gathers the following information for one nation: per-person annual income, population growth rate, and tons of carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels. The students compile their results in bar graphs. Figure 1 Per-Person Annual Income ($) 35,000 34,000 33,000 32,000 31,000 30,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 A B C D Population Growth Rate Per Year (%) 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 A B C D Carbon Dioxide Released Annually Per Person (tons) 20 15 10 5 0 A B C D Countries Countries Countries 9. Which country or countries would you classify as developing? Describe your reasoning. 10. Which country or countries are likely to have the highest rates of energy consumption? Explain your answer. 11. Which country is most likely the United States? How can you tell? Holt Environmental Science 4 Science and the Environment
AGREE OR DISAGREE Agree or disagree with the following statements, and support your answers. 12. Because large-scale species extinctions have occurred throughout Earth s history, we should not be concerned by the world s current high extinction rate. 13. Growing populations do not create social or environmental problems in areas where food resources are not limited. 14. Most people from developing countries have values and priorities very different from those of most people from developed countries. Holt Environmental Science 5 Science and the Environment
REFINING CONCEPTS The statements below challenge you to refine your understanding of concepts covered in the chapter. Think carefully, and answer the questions that follow. 15. The ecological footprint of a citizen of a developed nation is about four times larger than that of a citizen of a developing nation. Why do you think this is the case? 16. If you could travel in time to a period before the Industrial Revolution, what actions would you initiate to minimize current environmental problems? 17. Solutions to complex environmental problems can be very costly. Communities or other affected groups might perform a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the benefits of the desired solutions outweigh the financial cost. How might the results of a cost-benefit analysis be interpreted differently by a local citizen, a company CEO, and a city manager who monitors city funds while overseeing major improvement projects? Holt Environmental Science 6 Science and the Environment
18. If Earth is considered a closed system, how does that shape the outcome of environmental problems? How does this relate to local or regional environmental problems? 19. Identify a controversial environmental issue in your community that fits into one of the following three major categories: resource depletion, pollution, or loss of biodiversity. Discuss how the issue is being addressed, and whether or not the conflicts associated with The Tragedy of the Commons are affecting solutions to the problems. Holt Environmental Science 7 Science and the Environment
TEACHER RESOURCE PAGE Answer Key Concept Review MATCHING 1. d 6. b 2. g 7. e 3. c 8. h 4. a 9. j 5. f 10. i MULTIPLE CHOICE 11. d 16. a 12. b 17. d 13. b 18. d 14. c 19. b 15. d 20. d Critical Thinking ANALOGIES 1. c 5. a 2. d 6. c 3. b 7. c 4. d 8. c INTERPRETING OBSERVATIONS 9. Countries A and D are most likely developing countries because they have high population growth rates, very low annual per-person incomes, and low amounts of carbon released from fossil fuels. 10. Countries B and C would probably have the highest rates of energy consumption since they appear to be developed countries, and they release large amounts of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels. 11. Country B is probably the United States since it has the highest annual carbon dioxide output. Country C is also an acceptable answer, because on these graphs it shows all the indicators of being a developed country. AGREE OR DISAGREE 12. Accept any thoughtful answer. Sample answer: Agree; massive extinctions have been common throughout Earth s history. The planet recovers and adapts (example extinction of dinosaurs, rise of mammals). Disagree; other extinction events in Earth s history have not resulted from the acts of humans. No one knows the extent to which human society will eventually affect extinction events. 13. Accept any thoughtful answer. Sample answer: Agree; as long as a society is self-sustaining and can maintain healthy populations, population growth is not a problem. Disagree; regardless of whether food resources are adequate to support growing populations, the additional population stresses the environment through such things as overconsumption, pollution, and loss of habitat. 14. Accept any thoughtful answer. Sample answer: Disagree; values and priorities will inevitably differ somewhat. However, all people, no matter what their cultural background, share the same basic needs the need for shelter, clean water, food, and places for recreation. These needs, in turn, shape people s values. Ultimately, most people would agree that a clean, hospitable environment is a worthwhile goal for all people to work toward and share. REFINING CONCEPTS 15. Citizens of developed countries consume far more resources than do citizens of developing countries. Production of these resources takes up land and sea areas. Therefore, someone consuming more resources is going to leave a larger ecological footprint than will someone consuming fewer. Another aspect of the answer is that citizens of developing countries often face malnutrition. Thus, their ecological footprints are small, even compared countries with moderate consumption rates. 16. Accept any thoughtful answer. Sample answer: initiate antipollution controls at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution; develop better international relations to improve the sharing of agricultural and food resources; set aside natural areas before urban areas Holt Environmental Science 74 Science and the Environment
TEACHER RESOURCE PAGE develop and habitats are destroyed; and develop cleaner fuels and more efficient cars and machinery. 17. Accept any thoughtful answer. Sample answer: a citizen will be looking for public health and environmental benefits that will enhance the community s quality of life. The citizen may consider the benefits worth the cost. (Or, student might point out that citizens are taxpayers and might be wary of paying additional taxes.) The company CEO might be concerned about costs that seem too high to warrant making environmental initiatives cost-effective for the business. A city manager might have (or need to have) the most balanced view, wanting to make improvements that would enhance the lives of the city s citizens but that would keep the city within municipal budget limits. 18. Accept any thoughtful answer. Sample answer: Nothing enters or leaves a closed system; for Earth, only sunlight enters and heat leaves. This means that limited resources cannot be replenished if growing populations consume them at too fast a rate. Another consequence is that wastes can accumulate more quickly than they can be disposed of. Environmental problems that have local or regional effects must be dealt with on a different scale one that takes into account the scope of the given problem. Within a more restricted perspective, smaller areas are not necessarily considered closed systems. Examples: a polluted river might be receiving toxins from a local manufacturer or from farm chemicals three states away; landfill space might be filling up because of poor local recycling programs, or the local landfill might be receiving wastes from great distances; declines in wintering birds might reflect a loss of forest habitat due to local development, or it might be the result of disturbed wetlands in the birds summer habitat. Some environmental problems are global in nature, such as ozone depletion and global warming. Another approach to answering this question is to mention that environmental conflicts can occur between two neighbors, between two varying interests in the same town, or between towns. 19. Answers may vary; accept any thoughtful answer. Answers should address the conflict that arises between individual interests and the good of society when environmental problems are being faced. Possible topics: protecting endangered species by limiting new commercial or residential development; weighing the preservation of old or rare habitats against the economic benefits of new development; dealing with conflicting claims over rights to natural water supplies and the use of water for irrigation; worsening of local air pollution and resistance by various parties to the tightening of air quality regulations. Active Reading SECTION: UNDERSTANDING OUR ENVIRONMENT 1. An area of land can support many more people if it is used for farming instead of hunting and gathering. 2. d 3. the tilling of a field 4. seeds 5. harvested 6. Domesticated 7. c 8. The human population grew dramatically and began concentrating in smaller areas. 9. Humans began farming instead of hunting and gathering, their populations grew, and they concentrated in smaller areas. SECTION: THE ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY 1. the United Nations 2. Students may choose two of the following: the United States, Canada, Japan, or any of the countries of Western Europe. 3. b 4. d 5. A developed country is one that has (in the past) already developed, or grown to its completion. Holt Environmental Science 75 Science and the Environment